Russian rock journalist Art Troitsky’s caustic tongue has landed him in court in four separate libel cases. Emily Butselaar reports
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Police on Monday (25 April) arrested a journalist working for the independent website, Lanka eNews. Shantha Wijeysooria was arrested at the website’s offices in Colombo for alleged contempt of court. The charges relate to an April 19 article which allegedly defamed the court’s honour by suggesting that it was holding two suspects in custody in contravention of the attorney general’s written order to release them. The paper issued an apology on 22 April.
Vietnamese authorities have dropped charges against a female blogger who was detained for :infringing on the interests of the state”. She was arrested for defamation after describing a senior official’s son as a womanizer. Le Nguyen Huong Tra, who blogged under the pseudonym Co Gai Do Long, was arrested last October and released on bail this January. Authorities have declared her actions to be “less serious” than first thought.
Armando José Chicoca, a freelance journalist, has been given a one year prison sentence and fined US $2,100 for reporting on sexual harassment allegations against a top judicial official. His report, aired on Voice of America, included references to allegations about Antonio Vissandula, the highest judge in the province of Namibe.